Music Interview: Zach Hurd of Bay Ledges

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Siblings Zach and Georgia Hurd make up the Venice, California based indie folk/pop duo Bay Ledges whom you may be familiar with if you recently caught Cody Simpson & The Tide on their West Coast tour. Hint: They were the opening act. Their debut single “Safe” (which, we might add, gives major beach/summer vibes) garnered over 4M streams on Spotify plus was on the Viral 50 list for 3 weeks. So, yeah. They’re slowly becoming a big deal.

Back in August, the two released their EP Fountain Tropical to the masses which without a doubt fits the Cody Simpson & The Tide vibe so well. It’s no wonder they headed out on tour together. But it’s time to separate the two groups and focus our attention on Bay Ledges. Check out our interview with 1/2 of the duo, Zach Hurd, below.

The Young Folks: For our readers who are just getting to know you or hearing about you for the first time, how did Bay Ledges come about for both of you? I read that Georgia wanted to pursue acting at first so how did the idea to collab happen?Zach Hurd: The project started when I moved out to LA from NYC three years ago. Georgia had been out here for a few years pursuing acting and I stayed with her as I was trying to figure out a job and a place to live. While I was there I started messing around on my laptop with new sounds…recording my acoustic guitar, chopping it up and playing with vocals. I showed Georgia some of these songs and asked her to come up with some parts to sing. From there it kept evolving into something we were both excited about doing.

TYF: If, by chance, Zach you didn’t move to LA and crash on Georgia’s couch, how do you imagine your lives to be like today?Hurd:Prior to moving to LA I’d left NYC and was trying to figure out my next move… I went up to Martha’s Vineyard and worked on my friend’s fishing boat for a couple days…the work was pretty brutal and I was probably doing more damage to his operation than help. From there I did some landscaping for a while and then went back up to Maine where we’re from. I’d thought a lot about Nashville but that didn’t quite feel like the right move. Los Angeles felt like a good place to go because both of my sisters were out there and I knew there was a good music scene. It’s hard to say where we’d be if I hadn’t come out here…it definitely would’ve been a lot harder to do any work together.

TYF: Being that you’re both from Maine, what is the music scene like there?Hurd: Neither of us got to spend much time in the Maine music scene because we both moved to other places after college. Portland has some great music though. We really love that town. There are some great venues, and it feels like the city keeps embracing the arts more and more. We’re really hoping to get back and play there this coming year.

TYF: Loved the music video for “Safe.” I was curious if that lowkey really portrayed what it was like putting the song together?Hurd: It was definitely a more surreal version of how the song came together. We did record it in an apartment but it took a while. It went through a few different versions before we landed on the final one.

TYF: How did you come up with the idea of the video and how long did it take to shoot? I know it’s not but it really does look like one continuous shot!Hurd: We worked with Ellis Bahl on the concept for the video. He really liked the idea of showing the process in a more sped up and weird way. He had referenced Michel Gondry videos like “The Hardest Button To Button” by the White Stripes and we were fans of that work. It was a long day of shooting…if only it took as long to make as the video is.

TYF: Being siblings and all, how do you two overcome arguments with one another? Growing up, was there ever any sibling rivalry?Hurd: We try to just be open with each other and keep an open line of communication. That helps a lot, but it’s something I have to remember to do. There wasn’t really any sibling rivalry growing up. We’re 4 years apart so we were into different activities at different times.

TYF: What does your family think of Bay Ledges and the thought of you two working together creating really good music?Hurd: Our family’s been really supportive. Our other sister, Meddy and our mom flew out to our EP release show in August. We had some shows in NYC over the summer and our cousins would come out and rally their friends. Family has been a big help along the way.

TYF: You just came off tour with Cody Simpson and The Tide. How was that for you two? Generally, what is tour life like and what has been your favorite thing about it so far?Hurd: It was really fun to play to a new audience every night. Cody has a diehard fanbase so we knew a lot of people wouldn’t know who we were but it was cool to see them have such a great response to our set. It was really fun to travel up the California coast. We also watched the whole last season of Silicon Valley in the car. So far I think our favorite thing about touring is being able to get on stage just about every night. You’re able to get into a rhythm as a band and the set just gets tighter. It’s also nice to get out of LA and hang out in a new town for day.

TYF: Where do you hope to see Bay Ledges in 2018?Hurd: We’re working on a new album for early 2018. Excited to get that out! We’re also hoping to do a lot more touring this coming year. Hope to make some new fans out there.

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